Communication Studies

The Free Expression Network (FEN) is an alliance of centers, programs, and organizations that strive to protect the right to free expression. The FEN Clearinghouse web site features news briefs and other information on First Amendment issues, court rulings, legislation, censorship, free speech, the Internet, and freedom of expression in schools. The site also lists employment opportunities as well as links to relevant publications and to member and non-member web sites.

The G. Robert Vincent Voice Library at Michigan State University is the largest academic voice library in the nation, and houses various notable speeches, performances, lectures, interviews, broadcasts, and other recordings from the last 100 years. The Library's web site provides a sampling of recordings titled "U.S. Presidents of the 20th Century," a collection spanning from Benjamin Harrison to George W. Bush, available as RealAudio streams or downloadable MP3 files.

Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. (IRE) is a grassroots, non-profit organization that creates a forum in which journalists worldwide can share story ideas, story-gathering techniques, and news sources. On this site, visitors will find a schedule of conferences and seminars, information on fellowships and scholarships for students, contests, a database library, and a classified section. By far the largest section of this site is the Resource Center, which contains a database of more than 20,000 investigative stories and more than 2000 tipsheets, reporting guides, and beat sources.

The American Medical Writers Association, established in 1940, exists for anyone who writes, edits, or works in the field of biomedical communications. Its web site contains information on membership benefits -- including access to job listings, freelance directory, and a bulletin board area -- and continuing education resources. Also available are conference schedules, a chapter directory, and information on awards given by the organization.

The web site of the National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC) presents an overview of the alliance's purpose, goals, board of directors, staff, membership, grants, and other resources and activities designed to serve individual state organizations and educate the general public on issues related to freedom of information (FOI) and open government. The site provides recent and archived news, information on upcoming and past FOI Summits and other events, and access to the FOI Advocate e-newsletters and blog.

The Freedom of Information (FOI) Center, part of the National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC), is a reference and research library located at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, devoted to the issues of the free flow of information and access to government records at the federal, state, and local levels.

The Media Access Project (MAP) describes itself as "a non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to promoting the public's First Amendment right to access a diverse marketplace of ideas in the electronic mass media of today and tomorrow." Based in Washington, DC, MAP has since 1972 represented "listeners' and speakers' interests in electronic media and telecommunications issues before the Federal Communications Commission, other policy-making bodies, and in the courts." Top issues covered on the MAP web site include media ownership, broadband/open access (to the Internet), low-power FM (comm

The Great Debate and Beyond, presented by Chicago's Museum of Broadcast Communications, offers a multimedia history of US presidential debates. The presentation begins with the historic debates of 1960 between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy. This section features a video documentary, video reflections ("from those who were there"), commentaries (video and text), and a bibliography, as well as the entire first Great Debate itself. A segment on subsequent televised debates, through to 2000, is also included, incorporating video, photos, headlines, and other documents.

The International Press Institute (IPI) is a global network of editors, media executives and journalists dedicated to press freedom and good journalistic practice. The organization's web site presents IPI news updates, conference and event information, public statements (press releases, letters of protest, and resolutions), and access to a variety of IPI publications online, including the IPI Global Journalist magazine (formerly the IPI Report), annual IPI World Congress reports, World Press Freedom Review, and other reports and publications.

SocioSite, from the Department of Sociology at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is a comprehensive, annotated and searchable index of worldwide sociology/social science resources available on the Internet. The site covers a wide range of sociological subjects and theories, and includes extensive listings of academic departments, centers of research, professional associations, international organizations, and data archives.